Janice Worthington
MA, CPRW, JCTC, CEIP
Email
|
Janice Worthington |
|
"Success Stories" The recession is over! Well not totally and not that quickly, but the vast job market is looking much better! Candidates are finally securing more openings, more interviews, and quicker hires. As a career coach I am asked daily what candidates can do to capitalize on the upturn and my counsel focuses on the successes that occurred between Sept.12-Dec. 31, 2001. What worked during turmoil is certain to work in upturn. Paul’s new employer called him with a job offer for a Controllership on December 23, 2001. Deanna, a Vice President, secured a job interview for a Director and they reclassified the position upward to Vice President after she dazzled them on the interview in November 2001. Amanda, having heard that the prospective employer "works its employees to death" went on the interview anyway and loves her new job, which she began on September 15, 2001. These clients all received job offers following the September 11 tragedy in what is normally the slowest hiring period of any given year even in uneventful years. They didn’t even have to wait until the New Year. Our nation collided into September 11 already in the depths of layoffs, unemployment, lower earnings expectations, and investor shock. Nearly 2 million workers had been laid off before September 11 in 2001. So how did Paul, Deanna and Amanda do it? Here are some tips: Deanna sent out 200 print résumés, registered with / worked the job boards and conducted an on-line resume distribution. She networked with Women in Communications, joined Forty-Plus and began an employment bulletin board at her church, offering to serve as the "go-to" person for both candidates and employers. She accepted interviews from anyone who would speak to her. She received her job offer in 60 days; no relocation required. Amanda did not listen to the negatives presented each time she became interested in a company. Despite her youth, Amanda knew that out of fear and lack of confidence candidates tend be negative thus, not only avoiding the unknown, but eliminating potential job offers. She would not allow excuses such as "the managers are really demanding," "you work long hours" or "they don’t pay well" to deter her investigation. What the others deemed as hard work she saw as valuable opportunity and she genuinely liked a company that others had panned. Paul, like so many of us, lost his equilibrium on September 11 but like Amanda, his job search was not to be discouraged. Paul lost two friends in the World Trade Center but decided he would not lose his search momentum, close his mind or buy into the media’s gloomy economic tones even while Wall Street closed for a week. I was inspired by Paul’s determination. So was the employer that hired him on December 23. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Shallow men believe in luck...Strong men believe in cause and effect." Perhaps he was conducting a job search.
|